Scarlet Flame, Celestial Ice
by I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I
Summary: "Yes, they'll start to question themselves the possibilities of that ever happening, and; luckily, they will develop feelings for each other more naturally too if they take it to heart…" 100ThemeChallenge centered around NatsuxErza and GrayxLucy. On OFFIC
1. Introduction

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its ****characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I do**** own the idea for the fic though.**

**Introduction****.**

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

"Okay, this is very simple, I write the scripts and you play them in an already set-up stage…" I said to the gathered people in front of me, earning from questioning to surprised looks; even some complaints about why they had to do so when I wasn't from the guild or a contractor. I sweatdropped and scratched the back of my head nervously, I was never good at talking to a good amount of people… especially people that I didn't know from before. "W-well, you see, I have this dream of being a famous writer… but writing only about what I do, won't interest people into reading my material; so I need people to play the scripts that I write to give fame to my work…"

More grunts and negatives to my proposal, I sighed, I knew that it wasn't going to be easy but I was hoping for some people to accept and convince the others into participating. I waited for the group to quiet down so I could talk, coughing in my fist before trying another speech to persuade them.

"Look, if it is about a money issue, then I can solve it… I have a very extensive account that allows me to pay each and every one of you a sum big enough to make you forget about working for a year…" Some ears perked up at this, I frown at their greedy thinking but shrugged it out; I was getting close to get what I wanted. "And if it is about time, the scenes that I'm planning won't consume much of your time, say, about one or two hours a day…"

They grew quiet, whispering amongst themselves for a good amount of time before turning to me with nods and affirmative shouts about doing what I requested. I smile embarrassed, giving a small thumb up to them before talking again.

"Great! Then we'll start with it by tomorrow afternoon!" Everyone cheered at my exclamation, making me more embarrassed and shy. But I sum it up quickly to announce what I needed to say to them before taking my leave. "You're amazing guys! Now then, the scripts that I got are centered on one couple that I'll decide during the course of the night, and the title of the first scene is…"

I looked at the script in my hand and paled, this wasn't a good way to start the job with these people. I shifted in looking at the script and the people in front of me for a few minutes, until I finally got the courage to say the title.

"The first scene is… Love…"

I saw their faces paling in shock and fear, a gust of wind making them move like they were planted to the ground.

I sighed tiredly.

They were going to be 4 hard months these that were about to come.

_Later that day…_

I saw the sun setting through the window of my apartment, the people finishing with whatever thing they were doing to go home quickly and have dinner with their families. Very normal, surprisingly normal when one sees that this is the town in which the craziest and destructive guild of all Fiore is established.

I frown at the stupidity that I displayed today in front of those people, I was supposed to show confidence and whatnot to make them respect me… but instead, I had to resort to money to make them comply.

There was a hard knock coming from the door. I looked back from the window to the entrance with a mildly shock expression, then I smiled.

My counselors were here already.

I got up from my position on the window and walked hurriedly to the door, opening it for my two guests to enter, they walked calmly towards my living room and sat on my couch like they own the place; thing that didn't bother me since I like to treat people the same way that I would like to be treated. They were the two most important members of the guild, Master Makarov and Gildartz Clive.

"I'm glad that you could come," I said while grabbing a chair from the kitchen and dragging it to sit in front of the two men, earning an unreadable look from both of them. "I needed your advice regarding the couple thing for the job…"

"I see, and how are we going to help you?" Said the short old man while nodding to my words, crossing his arms in front of him while expecting an answer to his question; I took the book with the themes for my project and handed it over to the two. While they eyed the book, I took time to explain the situation to them.

"The decision about what couple is going to be the chosen one is mine but I cannot decide with just the name list that you gave me, I need some background to make the right choice. Otherwise, it'll be a disaster that my readers and editor will not even want to remember…"

"So... how do we do it?" The tall man said while scratching his stub and eyeing the book of themes over the other's shoulder, I looked up in wonder until something came to my mind.

"Well; you can start by telling me the name of the guys in your guild that are in more than good terms with most of the female population of the place… That'll help me reduce the options…" Both men started to think at my idea, not taking long to give me an answer.

"Hmm, those would be Gray and Natsu…" Said Gildartz after some thinking, the old man nodding to his answer, I move my chair closer to my desk and looked for the list that I received earlier that day; I searched for both names and marked them to have them as options. I nodded after doing it and turned around to look back at the mages, another question in my mind.

"Great! Now, the same question for the girls…" Both shook their heads in negative, I raise an eyebrow at the answer. "What's wrong?"

"All the girls get along well with the boys…" Makarov said while frowning, Gildartz nodding at his side in agreement; I frown at the setback. I turned to look the list of names again and then started to throw possible pairings.

"Okay then; it seems that we will have a long night ahead, guys… I'll name a couple and you'll give me your opinion, okay?" Looking over my shoulder, I saw them nod at my proposal and standing up to make some coffee they perked their ears up to hear the couples. While they did that, I started to recite the names. "Gray or Natsu and… Mirajane?"

"Hmm, is not bad but I think that Mira already has something going on with Freed…" I heard Makarov said from the kitchen.

"Gray or Natsu and Levy McGarden?"

"Gajeel is going to butcher Gray like raw meat… And it'll be worse if it's with Natsu…"

"Gray or Natsu and… Laki Olietta?"

"She'll drive them insane… literally, more than what they are already…"

"Damn… Then Gray or Natsu and Cana Alberona?"

"Hell no!" I was literally thrown off my chair by the scream that the tall man gave to me, it seemed like the option was out of the question; standing up and sitting back on my chair I continued with the names… each and every one of them being discarded by different reasons.

"Gray or Natsu and Evergreen?"

"They'll kill themselves when they see either of their names along with hers…"

"Gray or Natsu and Juvia Lockstar?"

"It could work with Gray but she's not mentally ready for the job… She's a tad bit of obsessed with him already and she'll probably act indifferent towards Natsu…"

"Gray or Natsu and Lisanna?"

"It could work with Natsu; more than with Gray, but it'll be too fluffy; the readers will probably read the first ten themes and later grow bore of the story…" Makarov said expertly to me; much to Gildartz and I surprised expressions, like he was a genius in this class of things… Well, being the leader of a guild in which everyone knows everyone and one keeps an eye out for anything must bring some experience to this matter, right? Besides, he was old, he probably knew a lot from past experience. I nodded at his advice and brought my eyes back towards the list, there were fewer names than when I started.

"O-okay, then Gray or Natsu and Bizca Mulan?"

"She has feelings for Alzack Connell, which he returns but doesn't confess…"

"Gray or Natsu… and… Wendy Marvell?"

"She's too young… regrettably…" Both said while sighing, I sweatdropped at the reaction; but returned to the task at hand, there were less names than before.

"Gray or Natsu… and Lucy Heartfilia?" Both men started to think hard at the option I said, making me turn around to watch them debate on the subject in between themselves until they turned to me with shaking heads. I sighed in defeat… but then Makarov coughed on his fist to call my attention.

"Tell us, who are the last girls on the list?" I raise an eyebrow at the question, but complied nonetheless; turning around to look at the list and see which names weren't scratched.

"Eh… Well… Erza Scarlet is the other one left on the list, besides Heartfilia…" Turning back to them, I found them whispering among each other again before nodding seriously and turning to me with such serious looks that I swear I felt the intensity of them. "Y-you came up with something…?"

"Yes, we have, we think that you should make it with Natsu and Erza as the main couple…" Makarov stated first.

"With Gray and Lucy as the secondary couple; if that's okay with you, that is." Finished Gildartz for Makarov before ending his third cup of coffee of the night, I looked at the sealing after hearing their proposal; it could work, right? For what I heard, he was carefree and reckless meanwhile she was strict and careful. They were both impatient when it came to matters of work, not caring to destroy a few things or leave some people unconscious when trying to get answers. But if I were to guide my choice through that, then I could put Gray and Erza together too… right?

"Do they have more than just opposite personalities?" They nodded to me but that was it. "Hmm, I'm trying to get answers, guys…"

"We know, but we cannot tell you; their personal lives are theirs and unless they're fine with it, we cannot tell you…" The tall man said, leaving me to think for a while… until something came to my mind.

"Okay, don't tell me, but let's do the next; tomorrow I'll post the names in the guild's job board and let them know about my choices… but not when I'll start with the job…"

"You mean… to let them interact on their own after letting them know that they could be a couple?" Makarov said while closing his eyes and dropping his head in thinking, Gildartz doing the same but supporting his head on the hand which arm was laid on top of the couch's armrest.

"Yes, they'll start to question themselves the possibilities of that ever happening, and; luckily, they will develop feelings for each other more naturally too if they take it to heart…"

"It's risky, but I think that it could work if 'we' do our part…" The brunette said with a smirk after some further thinking of my idea; Makarov nodding with a big grin from his part. I stood up from the chair with a triumphant look in my face and gave a thumb up to the men in front of me.

I now knew what I needed to do to succeed.

_The next day…_

I entered through the doors of the guild calmly, my face devoid of any possible emotion and my posture firm for what I was about to do; all the members were gathered in the main hall, looking at me with questioning eyes that I disregarded while walking to the job board. I looked back from over my shoulder, letting an evilly smile display in my face before Gildartz and an oversized Makarov stood behind me to cover me while I hanged the poster.

"It's done." I said to my counselors after a minute, nodding to them appreciatively before heading out of the guild through the main door; they nodded back and went to sit on the stools of the bar, looking how all the members ran to see which was my choice for the job.

To say that they were shock would be a lie; I saw how everyone was surrounded by a dark gloomy aura after minutes of witnessing my choice. When they stopped and turned to return to their seats, I saw some with relief expressions, some others with sad faces for not being chosen and most of them with terrified expressions.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

Now I just had to wait for the actors to enter and see for themselves… the choice that I made.

**To be continued.**


	2. Love

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I do own the idea for the fic though.**

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><p><strong>Love.<strong>

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

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><p><em>One hour after posting the choices, the writer ponders about which could be the right system to narrate the story; and he decided that telling the story from the four's point of view was a nice way to start, so we start this theme and turning-point day in Fairy Tail's life with Natsu…<em>

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><p>I walked tiredly to the guild with Happy next to me, watching how the people passed at our sides while giving us some weird looks or staring at us like we were new in town; thing that got me careless, I was sleepy and at the moment, I wasn't feeling in the mood of asking them what was wrong. But then again, I stifled a yawn and closed my still tired eyes, what was wrong with them? Did someone from the guild cause trouble or was it because I was walking like this when I would normally run to the place? Whatever, I didn't care right now, I just wanted to get to the guild, sit in the usual spot of the table I shared with the guys and doze off a little more before that weird guy came to make us work for his stories.<p>

Hell! I didn't feel like challenging Erza to a fight and that was saying something.

"Natsu!" I heard my trustworthy companion exclaimed to me, making me open one eye to look at him in question. "Who do you think that the guy will choose?"

"Ahhh, I don't care right now, Happy…" I said truthfully before closing my eye again and crossing my arms behind my head. I was so tired…

"But Natsu! What if you're the chosen guy?" That made me stopped on the spot, turning to look at the blue cat with an incredulous look before letting a laugh out. After a minute or so of laughing hard, I calmed down and kneeled down in front of my friend; patting his head lightly before smiling confidently.

"Please Happy! I would be the last choice of anyone when it comes to these things!" Happy nodded, not completely reassured and continued to walk to the guild along with me, the usual talk about how he seemed to be doing progress with the white exceed and how the big fishes were running out because of the tourists that came this time of the year being our main topics, until we finally arrived to the building; I burst through the doors like always, smiling and greeting everyone on my way to the table… but… there was something wrong with everyone that day.

Several of the guys were sending me strange looks that resembled pity and envy while the girls sent me looks that went along the same lines. I stopped before sitting in my place; Happy leaving to the second floor where Charle and Lily were, and I turned my head to look at everyone while asking. "What's wrong?"

"Natsu," I heard Gildartz voice from the bar, looking at him, he was sitting on a stool with a beer in hand and raising it towards me, toasting for something that was clearly the reason behind everyone's strange looks and his happy smile. "Good luck kid!"

"Eh? What's going on?" I asked again, not fully understanding anything yet.

"Look at the job board, you idiot!" Said Wakaba after losing his patience, I was going to answer him back but the curiosity got the better of me and as such, I was drawn to go and check out what was so important about the job board with a frown in my face.

"Okay, let's see what this is all about…" There was a paper posted in the middle of the board, put over the other requests and it read. "Job Request; looking for couples to play some romance scripts of an ascending writer, the couples chosen are Gray Fullbuster with Lucy Heartfilia… Wow! That's weird!"

"Keep on reading, moron!" Macao said while stopping a fit of laughter from getting out, Wakaba, Gildartz and Mira doing the same… well, now most of the guild members were stopping themselves from laughing. I looked back at the paper with a confused expression and continued the reading… of… it…

Silence.

"Eh… Natsu?"

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><p><em>Then Gray…<em>

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><p>'Damn it, I don't want to go…' I thought while covering my eyes with my pillow, the sunrays lighting down my entire bed through the window that was at the side of it and not letting me continue with my sleep. I threw the thing away after trying all the possible positions that I could think of to avoid getting light on my face and rose from the bed straight to the bathroom, taking a quick shower, brushing my teeth, and checking that my clothes were on me before heading out to the guild… to doze off a little more on the table that I shared with MY team.<p>

'Yeah, Team Gray sounds much better…' I thought to myself, a grin forming on my face that quickly disappeared after I realized the looks of envy that many men threw in my direction while I walked calmly with my hands on my pockets… Wait! I looked down, I still had my jacket on and my pants, it means that I didn't strip… then why were they looking at me with envy?

I shrugged the looks off and continued on my way, reaching the guild to find it with the doors open wide and in complete silence, just the voice of Macao talking to Natsu echoing inside the big hall that we had since the war with Phantom Lord.

"Eh… Natsu?" Macao asked for some acknowledgment from his part, but the flame brain only stood with his mouth hanging in front of the job board; unresponsive and paled as the white snow of place that was once my home.

"What's wrong with the idiot?" I asked aloud to everyone, making everyone realize that I arrived to the place, also turning the looks in my direction with the same feeling of envy that I received on my way to the guild. I sweatdropped while getting close to the job board, where Natsu was standing like he had seen a ghost… or his father in a pink dress; reading the paper in which his eyes were on, I found out that the guy from yesterday came up already with… the… couples…

Silence.

"There goes another…" Master Makarov say with a big smile before smirking amused, earning a laugh from many of the others that didn't hesitate to do it, now that Natsu and Gray were out of it.

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><p><em>Later Lucy…<em>

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><p>"Ah! What a nice day!" I said out loud while walking along the riverbank and waving a hand at the two guys that always were in their boat when I happened to be going to the guild or coming back from it… though, this time they didn't say anything to me. Strange. But instead of wondering why was that, I continued on my way to the place where my friends were waiting, a smile in place and holding my purse with one hand, while the girls glared daggers at me and the boys released sighs of defeat at my every step. 'What's happening?'<p>

I tried to ask one of the people but when I got close to one, this one got away and said that he/she had something important to do and that he/she couldn't talk to me at the moment. The day was getting weirder by each passing minute. I gave up, trying to get an answer from the citizens was unfruitful and that was why I hurried my way to the guild, surely someone in there would be able to explain what was happening to me without leaving me with the question unanswered.

Though, when I got there, something felt wrong… everyone was laughing at something that Master said before smirking amusedly and they were all looking at Gray and Natsu, my two teammates staring in shock at the job board like they had seen... something terrible? I went to the bar, where Mira looked at me with a glint in her eyes that didn't foretold anything good for me. "Hi Mira!"

"Lucy! You've arrived!" She said cheerily and loud enough for everyone to hear, making them shut their mouths and stare at me with expecting eyes. Seriously, what was wrong with everyone today! ? "Why don't you go there and check the job board, Lucy? I'm sure that you'll find something interesting in there, like Natsu… _and__Gray__…_"

"O-okay…" I raised an eyebrow at the emphasis that she made at my partner's name and how everyone almost burst out laughing again at what she said before nodding and walking nervously to where the guys were. I saw them staring at the job board like the two idiots I knew they were and with faces so pale that I thought they were sketches in white paper; waving an arm in front of their faces I got no answer so… I looked in the direction in which their eyes were staring and found a job request that was neatly hanged over the board, it seems like it was from the weird guy that came by to the guild the day before… Oh! The couple!

"He already came up with a couple? Who are… the… ones…?"

Silence.

"And there people, is the third… Now, only the Titania is left to see who will be her _Oberon_… Or _Salamander__…_" Everyone burst out in laughter at the commentary, Gildartz and Makarov were enjoying every single moment of this thing; if the big smug smile on their faces were anything to go by.

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><p><em>And last, but not less, Erza…<em>

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><p>"Good morning Erza-san." I heard Juvia greeting politely to me while I got out of my room, smiling happily before going down the corridor to the stairs; I only nodded to her in response, walking calmly to the master bathroom with the need to take a bath before the long day present in my face. I needed it if I was going to stand my day with Gray and Natsu bickering like they always did.<p>

After some good thirty minutes of relaxation, I change into my normal attire, joined the girls in breakfast and headed out to the guild with high spirits; what could go wrong today? Gray and Natsu were already S-class mages and their need to prove each other against me was slowly dissipating, much to my boredom… without them bothering me during the times we were out of a mission, I was surely to grow bore of each day and look for jobs more frequently.

Not that I wanted them to challenge me, each passing second, but enough at least to entertain me while I was wasting time in the guild. Well, at least, even if Gray was sure to abandon his attempts to fight with me; I could always count with Natsu's hardhead to keep up doing it without me prompting him to do it. That idiot, so many things had happened in these past months and he's still innocent like a kid, straightforward like the flames he uses and overprotective of what he holds dear like the dragons that he said, raise him and taught him the magic with which he's so famous now.

Salamander, annoying brat, stupid flame head; they could call him whatever way they wished, to me he was Natsu and that was it.

I got closer to the open doors of the guild, hearing the sound of laughter and the voice of Gildartz from the inside; it seemed that the guild was as boisterous as always, but when I stepped inside, everyone quieted down and turned to look at me with a strange glint in their eyes. Like they were expecting me with obvious anticipation; looking at everyone before continuing forward, I heard the voice of Levy calling out to me but when I turned to look at her, she was held by the arms by Jet and Droy with her mouth covered with their hands; her two teammates giving a pair of nervous smiles to me before dragging the girl outside with Gajeel silently on toe.

I raised an eyebrow at the strange scene but continued to walk to my table, expecting to find my friends sitting in there and I found out that they weren't. I looked around to see if they were even in the guild and my eyes located them standing in front of the job board with their figures pale. "What is wrong with them?"

"Don't know, you should go and check it out…" I heard Gildartz say with contained amusement before turning around to ask Mira for another drink, she had a sweet smile like always so I only raise a questioning eyebrow at the senior before nodding and going to where my teammates were, looking at their faces staring at the board with wide eyes and mouths hanging. I asked for each one of them by their names and received no answer, so I looked at what was that got them struck in shock. The board had a neatly hang paper in it that seemed to be from the guy that came the day before to the guild in hopes of getting actors for his scripts, now that I remember it seemed it was true, he said that he was going to choose the couple for it during the night; then the names were in there and surely involved my three partners… a love-triangle, that was something that could call my attention, I thought while blushing slightly.

But I needed to check if I was right before saying anything, so I looked at the paper and started to read it out loud. "Job request; looking for couples to play some romance scripts of an ascending writer, the couples chosen are Gray Fullbuster with Lucy Heartfilia… That's good; I always thought that they made a great couple…"

"Erza! Keep reading! The guy chose two couples…" I heard Happy say to me while floating at my side, his little paw pointing at the paper while he had an amused smile on his face. I nodded to him while thanking him for the information and turned my head back to keep on reading the request.

"The couples chosen are Gray Fulbuster with Lucy Heartfilia; and Natsu Dragneel with… Erza… Scarlet…"

Silence.

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><p><em>Before going to an omniscient point of view.<em>

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><p>"Oh god! Tell me that Reedus is painting them!" Gildartz screamed in between laughs, grabbing his stomach that was hurting because of laughing so hard.<p>

"I am, Gildartz-san! I am!" Reedus voice could be heard from the other side of the guild, close to the four thunderstruck mages and painting quickly the moment before they snapped out of it. Everyone was laughing so much that the laugh was even heard at the outskirts of Magnolia… at least, that's what some said.

But then, an hour passed by and the team was not coming out of the shock, starting to make everybody nervous and slightly scared.

"Uh, guys? Are you okay?" Alzack asked while shaking Gray's shoulder lightly, the ice mage not fully responding and making everyone frown. He tried shaking him harder but he still got no response.

"You're doing it wrong, you should try doing this." Gildartz said while approaching the four kids, standing behind them he raised his fist in the air and give each and one of them a hard and fast bump on their heads; making them react to the pain and spat out of their shock to look at him, with Natsu being the first to scream at him in protest.

"What the hell! ? Why did you do that! ?" Gildartz frown and shook his head tiredly before walking away, leaving the group to stare vacantly at the job board again, with blushes spreading on their faces; Gray crossed his arms and with serious determination said to everyone while going to the bar, sitting on a free stool.

"I'm not doing it… Not even if I'm with Lucy." Said girl felt her blush coming to her stronger before crossing her arms and barking out that she didn't want to do the thing with him either. Leaving only Erza and Natsu left to come up with their protests… if they had any…

Natsu only looked at the women at his side with an unreadable face and later turned around, marching towards the door with such calm that surprised everyone; while Erza did the same but marching towards the second floor with her face stoic as always. Everybody felt the sweat forming on their foreheads, the two of them were clearly taking it harder than the other two that openly denied to do it… it was either that or they were just expressing to everyone that they agreed to do it.

Which wasn't possible, right?

Just in case, Makarov ordered Bickslow and Freed to follow the Salamander and contain him; if the situation presented itself, while the others stayed to keep a close watch over the Titania; not wanting to take any chances of mass mindless destruction over something trivial on Magnolia or inside his precious guild.

And while they took care of their strongest and dangerous friends, Gray and Lucy were sitting separated from each other at least by 10 meters; not facing each other or even throwing a glance in the other's direction. They were both with their arms crossed, their faces blushed and in deep thinking, thing that made everyone snicker slightly since the simple mission was getting a little serious and interesting now that feelings were involved, just play some romantic scripts and see later what the whole business brought with it. What wasn't funny about that?

'I do not like him like that… right? Of course not, if I did I would have tried something… right? Or if he did, he would have tried something… right? Ugh! Stop already with those 'ifs' and 'rights', they are getting annoying!' Lucy thought furiously before messing up her hair in frustration, sighing tiredly and dropping her head on the table with relative light force; her soul coming from her mouth.

Cana, being her and that she owed the celestial mage for life; since she encouraged her into telling the truth to her father, walked close to where she was sitting and tried to comfort her… somehow. "Lucy, I know that is hard but even if it's Gray, you must do this job…"

"You're saying it only to make me feel better…" Lucy said while raising her head and putting her hands to support it, Cana scratched her face with a lone finger before laughing uncomfortably, making the blonde turned to look at her and sweatdropped. "You're making me feel better so I can do the job and everyone gets paid, right?"

"Could it be, could it be…" Lucy dropped her head in surrender, her soul coming out again; making the brunette thrash her arms around while saying all kind of things to convince her of otherwise and making Gray look at the two women from over his shoulder while thinking what to do.

'Come on, it's just a job, how bad could it be?' He thought to himself before attempting to go and tell Lucy that he was okay with doing it, but then, Mira had to talk.

"I don't know about Erza and Natsu, but don't you think that Gray and Lucy make an excellent couple?" Gray froze.

"Oh yes! They look so cute together!" Gray heard Lisanna say that before Gildartz and Master burst out laughing again.

"Indeed, he had his eyes on her since she joined…" The ice mage turned his head slowly to see the short old man smirk at him proudly after saying that. "Good move kid!"

"Aw, they grow so fast!" Gildartz said dramatically before laughing again. This was going smoothly, they just needed to press harder and the results would come up on their own.

"S-shut up! You are speaking nonsense!" The known laid-back mage screamed before quickly retreating to his stool to hide his head in between his arms; of course, at seeing this, the others stopped their joking and let the boy a little time to recover from the embarrassment… a little time, that is.

"So Gray, right now, were you going to tell her that you were okay with the job? Or to tell her something else?" Lisanna teased him while hitting him lightly on the ribs with her elbow, sending a mischievous smile in Gray's direction which resulted in him only burying his head deeper and letting out an annoyed growl.

"Lisanna! Let him be, we cannot force Gray to confess from one moment to the other…" Her sister said before chuckling lightly with a hand over her mouth. Gildartz snorted at the comments before standing up and walking close to the ice-mage, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder which he tried to shrug off of him.

"Come on Gray, is time to grow up, don't you think?" Gray actually looked up to see the tall man in the eyes, feeling like he was probably right, he couldn't be a kid all his life, at some time he would have to grow up and be a man. Have a family, a kid to teach him his magic, a reason to come back after a hard mission or someone at his side during one, grow up, two words that said many things. He let out a smile in gratitude for the words of advice and the old man returned it, but it later turned to an amused grin. "Besides, when I was your age I had like, three girlfriends at the same time! And I didn't have your good looks!"

"Dad!" Cana screamed embarrassed from her position at Lucy's side, the girl still unresponsive.

"You must be joking…" Gray stared unbelievably at the smirking man before sinking his head again in his arms. He would never hear any more advices from Gildartz from now on. But then again, Gray wasn't an idiot like Natsu who did things without thinking, he moved after previously seen all the consequences of his actions; and now, was a perfect time to think.

'Let's see, this is Lucy and it's just a job, they're not asking me to marry her; just to play some lame romance scenes and that's it. No feelings involve and no hearts broken, just like any other job… a job… Lucy… a job… Wait a fucking minute! Lucy is not damn job! She's my teammate dammit! I gotta do this right and stop being so childish! Besides! She knows what I think of her thanks to those Gemini brothers, it doesn't change anything so now… be a man!' He stood up quickly and turned to walk with his head low towards his blonde friend, his imposing figure looming over her calling her attention. "Lucy, we need to talk…"

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><p><em>Going with Natsu<em>

* * *

><p>"Tch, so much trouble for some simple job, I can't believe Natsu of all would chicken out…" Bickslow said to the green haired man at his side, earning just a grunt in response. The tall man turned to look at him in question, trying to get more than a simple grunt in reply. "Hey! Come on, what do you think?"<p>

"In these situations, the opinions of others don't count and don't matter, only the opinion of those involve is what should care at all." He said knowingly before stopping, Bickslow stopping too and turning his head to see ahead; they were close to the south gate of the town, the park in where Shadow Gear was found beaten up and hanged showing the Phantom Lord mark that started the guild war so many months ago. "He's there…"

"There where?" Looking closely, he could discern a familiar leg with black sandal hanging loosely from one of the branches of the tree that stood at the center of the plaza, walking closer, both saw the dragon-slayer sitting thoughtfully in said branch; staring at the leafs with his hands resting over his belly. "Oi Natsu! What are you doing up there?"

The boy didn't move or made any sigh of acknowledgement, preferring to keep on gazing at the unmoving leafs of the tree with his thoughtful expression. Bickslow slightly opened his mouth in questioning before turning to check his partner, Freed was expressionless, only a slight frown of his delicate eyebrows, his eyes narrowed and an intense glance at the dragon-slayer showing that he didn't like that kind of answer. He unsheathed his sword and moved it upwards, moving just two steps to be under Natsu's body before thrusting the rapier with enough strength to get a reaction from the pink-haired… which he received indeed.

"Why did you do that! ?" Questioned painfully the dragon-slayer, rubbing the sore spot where the rapier stabbed him and glaring daggers at the green haired man with contained tears on his eyes. While Bickslow laughed at his bad luck, Freed only shook his head and crossed his arms, his eyes were closed and though Natsu wanted to return the favor badly, he knew better than to interrupt the man when he was about to say something important.

"Natsu, why did you leave the guild in silence? What were you thinking up until now?" Bickslow quieted down after hearing the questions from his old friend; he spun his head to check on Natsu's reaction, noticing how the boy changed to a serious expression that was incredibly rare for him before threatening to say something in response and shutting his mouth… much to the tall man's patience.

"Come on, Natsu! Tell us! This'll remain between us! Right, Freed?" The man nodded, giving his solemn word that whatever the dragon-slayer said to them was going to be a secret that would never leave their mouths… and if it happened to slip from one of them, they would die a snitch's way. "That's… right… yeah, we'll die like a snitch if we say anything, so tell us, Natsu…"

He sighed defeated before walking to stand under the tree, the other two following close and sitting on the grass when he did so. "Only because I can trust in Freed's word…"

"Hey! What about me?" Natsu shrugged.

"I can trust your word too, but I cannot say the same of your dolls…" Bickslow felt a vein popping up on the back of his head but nodded in understanding, even if he controlled the dolls, they always said whatever they wanted when they wanted to. So he called out his dolls and did the only thing that he could, he threatened them with cancelling the spell and let their souls be lost in the void if they were to ever mention what was about to be talked in there… they cowered in fear, nodded and stayed floating silently behind his back.

When Bickslow turned to face him with an okay nodded, he crossed his arms and stared at the grass, thinking of what he was about to say before saying it, taking aback Freed and Bickslow that always thought that the boy didn't think at all and just said whatever came to his mind.

"Well, I… I was just thinking about the job… about Gray and Lucy paired together while I was paired with Erza…" He didn't look sad for the choices or disappointed so the two guys let him continue with an encouraging nod. "And… about what I was supposed to do during this… job…"

"I see." Freed nodded, fully understanding what he meant but then…

"I don't! What's so difficult about it?" Natsu only shrugged and continued to stare at the grass.

"I don't know… Maybe is because Erza is… well, is Erza…" Bickslow nodded, he was now starting to grasp some parts of the big picture in his mind. Freed in change, already got the big picture; he was just waiting for Natsu to realize on his own while Bickslow helped him with his own obliviousness. "She's scary and annoying most of the time…"

"That's right, that's right…" The taller man said in agreement as he repeatedly nodded at the words he heard.

"She stops my fights with Gray, bosses us around, beat us down when she's annoyed, treats us and scolds us like if we were little children…" More nods of agreement. "But…" Then Natsu's face changed, surprising both men with the little smile that settled on his face at the same time his body relaxed. "But then she's kind with us, teaches us cool stuff from time to time with all the knowledge she has, hang out with us when she's not on a mission and she even goes on missions with us when we ask her to join us…"

Both nodded slowly, trying to regain their lost postures after the pink-haired showed them how much he noticed and insightful he was… to say it right, he was seriously changing the opinion they had of him with this little talk.

"Gah! I don't know! I just feel uncomfortable with doing this…" But then, Natsu was Natsu and that couldn't be changed from one day to the other. At the last words, understanding that the fire wizard didn't had anything more to say; Freed nodded, standing up from his position with closed eyes, making the other two look at him in confusion that increased a little more when he offered a hand to help Natsu get on his feet.

"I heard everything that I needed to hear; now Natsu, I can explain to you why you feel uncomfortable with this but only if you want me to." Natsu looked at him for a moment, his eyes shifting in between the extended hand and the serious face that the man had. He was seriously wanting to know what was this feeling that was troubling him so he nodded at the proposal that the man made and grasped his hand with a firm and confident hold, making the tight up man smile appreciatively at the gesture. "Okay then, Bickslow, wait for us at the guild… This is something that Natsu needs to hear from me alone."

"Uh! ? Why?" He pouted at the words, not believing that he was being left out when the thing was getting more interesting; Freed shook his head while he helped Natsu get up with his hand.

"I'll tell you when you're older."

* * *

><p><em>Back with Erza…<em>

* * *

><p>"How's she doing?" Asked whispering a curious Alzack while checking that the mentioned person was out of eyesight, his words receiving a negative answer from the green haired woman to whom he was talking to. Bisca went a few minutes ago to check on the woman and found staring at the city with the same face she had when snapping out of the initial shock, something that said only one thing; she was thinking hard on the matter. Alzack sighed in defeat at the news, laying back against a table while supporting his torso with his arms over the surface. "This was so funny at the beginning, with Gray and Lucy acting all that awkward, but this two are making a huge deal out of it."<p>

He got a hard kick on the leg as an answer, yelping in surprise and pain at it, staring questioningly at the woman before getting the message that her frown send him.

"Okay, okay, I get it!" He apologized hurriedly. Bisca's frown didn't disappear though, as she was still thinking about the situation in which her two friends were.

Now with the knight; she was staring at the city from the window of the infirmary with no particular reason but the need to be calm to think about the matter she was at with Natsu, with all of all people it was Natsu! Sure, she trust him with her life and couldn't think of anyone else when she needed someone that could help her without asking questions but still, it was the oblivious and childish dragon-slayer of which we're talking of. She 'might' have seen him in a romantic light more than once but she was sure as that she was a woman that he never thought about love for the opposite sex… except with Lisanna that is… and maybe Lucy too…

'He surely sees me as mean and scary for all I know, that's why he didn't said anything when we looked at each other minutes ago.' She thought with a small narrowing of her eyes, she was almost right in that, Natsu did saw her as mean and scary sometimes; but he also saw her in a way that because of his obliviousness he couldn't fathom what is was. Though, she didn't know of that… yet.

"Erza? Are you okay?" Asked Mira with obvious concern for her friend and former rival, getting inside the room and walking to the center of the room and closer to the red-head as she move on her position to face her, looking at her with her unreadable amber eyes and making the demon smile nervously at her. "I take that as a no?"

"Interpret it as you want to, I'm not in the mood right now Mira, what do you want?" She said quickly to end the conversation and return to her thoughts, but the white-haired only shook her head and stepped closer to her, coming to stand by her side to look at the beautiful blue sky that was over Magnolia that day. Erza frown at the moved but made no comment, preferring to let her be and join her in staring at the sky, hearing her voice after a few minutes of companionable silence passed.

"Thinking about Natsu?" Bull's eye, as always; but Erza was prepared this time, giving an unknowing shrug as an answer before leaning against the window's frame lazily with her arms crossed. Mira eyed her from the corner of her eyes before letting an amused chuckle out, almost breaking the façade that the orderly knight was keeping. "I know what's troubling you Erza, and it's not the job or Natsu…"

"What do you mean?" She asked with a questioning glance being thrown at the transformation sorcerer beside her, said woman just remained with her eyes on the sky, giving the Titania time to think about her words. Erza thought about her words after seen that she wasn't going to receive an answer; troubling her? And it wasn't Natsu or the job? She thought hard for a few minutes, connecting the dots in her mind and trying to get the answer by herself until she remembered.

The theme for the first scene was 'Love'… There were couples chosen and she was one of them to play it together with Natsu. She was sort of happy that it was with him and not with Gray or someone else… but she couldn't help to feel regret at thinking that it wasn't with a person in special. Blue hair flashed in her mind. She got it now, and Mira knew that she did at noticing the change of the Scarlet's facial expression; opening her mouth to talk again as if the woman thought about it out loud. "So, what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." Was the simple yet meaningful answer, Mira sighed at it and straightened her body to face her old-friend with a small scowl and pout.

"Well, you'll have to think of something fast, because Freed will give the heads up to Natsu when he and Bickslow find him." Erza looked confused before getting the message and turning to stare in shock at her.

"You mean… tell him about…" Mira nodded, her face staying the same but now with her arms crossed.

"He'll explain to him what 'love' someone means."

* * *

><p><em>With Gray and Lucy…<em>

* * *

><p>"Lucy, we need to talk…"<p>

'Huh?' She looked up to see him staring at her with determination written all over his face, which almost disappeared when her brown innocent eyes crossed with his serious ones. He gulped down and nodded to himself before sitting next to her, the action making her a little nervous as it make him and both remain like that, in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes in which both preferred to stare at the table as if it was the most interesting thing on the whole world.

Until Gray decided that it was enough and coughed on his close hand to call her attention. "Lucy, I…" His words choked deep down in his throat, the nervousness for what he was going to say beating his resolve, but he shook his head of that nervousness and cleared his throat before turning to face her with his most serious-embarrassed face. "Lucy, I… L-like you… And I want to do this job with you because of that…"

There! He said it! Gaaaah! It wasn't so difficult, wasn't it?

Though, the hardest part was hearing her answer. The blonde stellar mage was at a loss of words, a furious blush spreading through her cheeks as her mind replayed his words time after time till she heard him shifting nervously on his position.

"You… really mean it?" Lucy asked wide eyed at the man sitting next to her, the poor fella looking sheepishly at the table while a hand brushed his hair back; he could only nod in answer, trying to fight back the blush that was spreading on his face. The blonde had one of her own as she too started to look sheepishly at the table, thinking about what he said to her the past few minutes again.

"Yeah… So, what do you say?" He replied uncomfortably, the urge to get the hell out of there winning over his resolve. The girl's hands grabbed each other, moving nervously a few times, but then, she faced him with that determinate face she rarely had and that made the man next to her smile in anticipation.

"O-okay, let's do it…" She stood up much to his surprise, and started to walk to the exit with his eyes following his shaky steps until she turned to look at him with a frustrated face. "So? Let's go! I want to go and walk by the town or something!"

He blinked twice at her words. Was she… asking him out on a date? That fast? Great!

"Y-yeah! Coming!" Standing up as if the seat was on fire, he catch up with her and motioned her to lead him to wherever she wanted to go, earning a soft smile in return and her figure moving again with him following closely with a smile of his own now that he had some more confidence.

The guild watched them go with restrained urges to cheer them up and wished them good luck, getting the message than that could ruin the moment. Gildartz and Makarov smiled happily for them, one couple was done and starting as they planned it to happen; now it was just a question of time before the Titania and Salamander did the same… If things with Freed and Bickslow that were with Natsu, and Mira that was with Erza went well, it was likely to Fairy Tail to have form two couples in only a day.

"Are you out of your mind! ?" The voice of Erza was heard inside the whole guild, making some of the members cover their ears in shock and some others to cower in fear… but for the two advisors it was different, they shared troubled looks before releasing tired sighs.

They forgot that it was Natsu and Erza of which they were talking about.

* * *

><p><em>Going with Natsu, again...<br>_

* * *

><p>"You're joking…" Was all he could think of saying after hearing Freed's explanation, the man shocking his head seriously in response. It was no joke. Crossing his arms, a pout and a frown settling on his features, Natsu stared at the ground while impatiently tapping his foot, thinking through what he heard and trying to get it. "But then, I love Mira and Lucy too…"<p>

A swift kick on the groin was his only answer, the dragon-slayer clutching his sore spot on the ground, a deadly revengeful glare being directed at the attacker. Freed sighed, helping the man rise to his feet as he avoided a retaliation punch to his gut. "Natsu, don't get it wrong, tell me, have you ever felt something really deep for someone that it was enough to risk your own life to ensure its safety?"

"That's what I'm saying! I would risk my life for anyone of Fairy Tail!"

The green-haired man sighed tiredly again, closing his eyes to think about how to continue without losing brain cells in the process. The boy cared for everyone equally and even if it was true than that could be called love, it was not love as he meant it. So he tried to think about other things that were influenced by love, remembering what he read from Levy's books, he came up with something that made him give a victorious laugh, startling the boy in front of him. "Then tell me, have you ever felt the need to protect someone in special?"

The boy didn't take too long to answer him. "Well, that would be Lucy; she's still rather weak…"

Another kick on the groin, the poor boy was crying waterfalls at the pain he felt, while the man coughed on his fist and thought about other thing that could be related to love. Snapping his fingers when something else came to his mind and smiling confidently at what he thought it was the most important thing of the whole deal. "Do you feel the need to be close to someone, Natsu? To protect it no matter what from any harm, being it physical or emotional?"

"Huh?" The boy looked up, staring in wonder at the man standing in front of him, his hands still holding the sore area where the last kick hit him.

Close to someone?

Then… "Happy!"

Another kick…

Protect someone? "Fairy Tail!"

Another kick…

He was starting to feel the pained area numbing with each reply to his answers. 'Okay Natsu, think! Close to someone so I can protect it, from physical or emotional harm… that sounds cheesy, like what's written in Lucy's books… Arg! Concentrate! Close, protect, physical or emotional! Think, think, think!'

Freed watched the young dragon-slayer debating internally for almost ten minutes, getting the surprise of his life at seen Natsu break his own record at how much time could he remain in thinking… seriously, this was something memorable. 'And I'm the only one to witness it, today might be my lucky day.' He thought with a small smile appearing on his face, but then, time passed and the boy wasn't over… twenty… thirty… forty… It wasn't a bad course of action when Freed decided to move the boy to a more private place, people was starting to look at them; especially him, weirdly and that was not good in any sense.

Taking the boy to his house, Freed laid him on the hammock the boy had for a bed and went to sit on the couch across from it, continuing to stare at the pink-haired while he thought about… his last words, well, you cannot blame the poor man for forgetting what he said after what happened, right? Watching Natsu of all, lying motionlessly in thought was not something that could be seen every day, so… let's let it slide this time.

A complete hour passed by and he was still in deep thought… Freed was starting to feel a little nervous, the boy didn't move at all in the past hour and he could swear that he didn't even blink in all that time! Standing up from the couch with trembling legs, the leader of the Raijin Tribe got near the boy and extended a hand out to reach his shoulder, shaking him lightly first, shaking him as if the boy was dying later with him shouting his name to make him spat out of it.

"Natsu! Stop! Forget about it!" He screamed as his other hand came to shake his body completely. He didn't respond though, continuing to stare at the infinite, much to the other man's nerves. "Natsu!"

This was getting nowhere, stopping his attempts, Freed gave two steps back and inspected the boy closely. He was still breathing, that was good, his body was relax, if his hands dropping from the spot on which he previously hit him was any indication of it and now that he paid close attention to it, the boy was indeed blinking… every two minutes. Sighing in partial relief, the man walk back to the couch and sat there in a more comfortable position, getting the message that it was going to be a long time before the boy finished with his rationalization. 'I just hope that he finishes before three thirty… Mira is not going to be happy if I'm late to our date…'

In the oblivious mind of Natsu, there was a situation that was about to shake the foundations of Fiore, something that no one ever expected to happen, something of which Freed was completely responsible of causing… Natsu was starting to realize several things, connect the dots, and understand some situations of his past that finally brought him to the answer Freed was expecting… Opening his mouth to talk, his dry lips separating slowly at the first words in such a long time for him to remain quiet, his words caught the man sitting across him completely by surprise.

"I…" He started in a soft whisper; Freed hastily standing up and getting close to hear him clearly was the reaction he received. "I…"

"You…? You what?" Freed urged him to finish, he was about to hear what he wanted to hear after an hour and a half of waiting and getting the scare of his life. "Tell me Natsu!"

"I… I love… Erza…"

Mountains crumble.

Thunders roared.

An earthquake shook in a faraway land.

Birds went mute.

Waves clashed mercilessly against the coast.

And Freed felt his soul coming out of him, it was over! Nodding repeatedly at the answer, he grabbed the boy by the shoulders and sat him straight on the hammock, smiling proudly to him before giving him a bone-crushing hug, excessive from his part… but understandable. "Good job Natsu!"

"Thanks… I guess…" The pink-haired boy said rather uncomfortable by the hug, returning it awkwardly before pushing the man apart from him after a minute or so. "What time is it?"

"It's one past ten, you have been thinking for an hour!" He proudly answered him, his right arm going to show him his wristwatch and the time it was, Natsu nodded and got down of the hammock, heading to the door with Freed looking at him questioningly. "Where are you going?"

Natsu tilted his head to look at him from over his shoulder and smiled confidently. "To the guild, I want to eat something, wanna come?"

"Uh… Sure, why not?" He answered, catching up with the boy and closing the door on his way out, Freed asked the question that was repeating itself in his mind over and over again after seen the boy confessing his feelings for the red-head so naturally. "But Natsu, what are you going to do with… you know who...?"

"You'll see…" And he let out a hearty laugh out, a small blush on his cheeks and his hands going inside his pockets. Freed wasn't satisfied with the answer, but couldn't help to think that knowing what the boy would do was going to make it less laughable when he witnessed the reaction of Mira and the others… so he nodded and followed him back to the guild.

It better be worth the time he spent with him.

**To be continued**

* * *

><p><strong>God... This is the first AND last chapter that I write this long... I didn't feel like proofreading it after I noticed that it was 9 pages long... :P<strong>

**So... Enjoy it, a month of work for you my dear readers, next chapter will come out faster than this one so... don't bug me... xD**

**Any mistakes you find, I take the fault for them, any mistakes that you invent to annoy me, I'll make you regret ever making me feel bad. ¬¬**

**Next theme is: **_Light_**.**

**Expect nothing, wish for everything. XD  
><strong>

**Saludos.  
><strong>


	3. Light

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail or any of its characters; they belong to the one and only Hiro Mashima.**

**I do own the idea for the fic though.**

* * *

><p><strong>Light<strong>

_(A I.-.-.I Kuroyagi I.-.-.I original fan-fiction story.)_

* * *

><p><em>Earlier that day…<em>

'_Thinking about it without anything else involved, love and light have a lot of things in common, depending on the point of view of each one of us; that is._

_They make us feel lightweight, warm, and glowing and whatever other mushy feelings you might want to add to the mix._

_In short, love is a light of sorts, guiding us, making us stronger, giving us a reason for the darkness to stay back; and that is, to enjoy the warmth feeling it brings.'_

*gulp*

'Oh? I'm out of coffee…?' Levy thought with a panicked face, eyeing the inside of her mug to just see a few drops of the brown liquid at the bottom. Sighing and leaving that aside she read what she had written so far, letting out another sigh at how hard it was to actually write something of one's own imagination about something you don't know very well. 'I wish I could talk to Lu-chan about it…'

But it was 6 in the morning; the blonde might be sleeping by now.

Well, she surely was sleeping soundly, after the long day they all had… who wouldn't go to rest the tired body?

A mission done correctly, her teammates giving her praises here and there and the usual talk with her blonde friend as always… except for that strange guy that came up with a job for the guild about actors playing romantic scenes for a book that he was writing. If he wanted actors, why didn't he go to an actors' guild instead of wizards' guild? It didn't make sense… though, with how Fairy Tail was, he surely preferred to try with them than being mercilessly shot down by those pompous actors' guilds.

Sigh.

'Today was certainly the longest day…' And she leaned on her desk with her hands supporting her head, looking with half lidded eyes at the town being bathed with the first lights of dawn outside her study, some of those lights blinding her completely. She covered her eyes with a hand, closing one because of the strong sun, and tried to discern the landscape before her. 'White horizon… bright sun… blue in different tones going to the west and some starts still lingering in the darkest parts…'

Sigh, again.

'I even can't properly describe my surroundings…' Dropping her head in defeat, she continued to gaze at the morning sun with her eyelids closing ever so slight with each passing second… until she finally fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>Later that day, but before the whole job request.<em>

Sigh, for the umpteenth time that day.

Levy was walking the usual road to the guild, her eyes sporting a set of rings under them for being awake until late hours of the night and waking up just a few hours later; she just couldn't miss that day, nor could she miss her usual routine, she goes to sleep at one time and wakes up at another one. And the second one couldn't change, no matter how tired she could be.

Arriving at the guild and going in through the front door, she met the usual atmosphere, everyone was enjoying themselves either by talking, fighting –Erza wasn't' there yet- or hanging around the place while eyeing everyone silently –Gajeel was sitting on the railing of the second floor with his arms crossed as always-. So, she went to sit on her table, not caring about Jet and Droy telling her –shouting is more precise- about who were the one picked by the man from the day before to play his scripts.

She grunted tiredly, sinking her head in between her arms to rest her eyes and mind from the constant blather of her teammates. That guy was the cause of her restlessness, he came claiming to need people for his scripts so he could prove the worth of his work to the rest of the world and that set her mind into work. She loved to read and, usually, her imagination played different scenarios for her to laugh about when the days at the guild were rather boring… such as a love-triangle between Elfman, Evergreen and Laxus… or maybe an unrequited love scene between Juvia and Gray.

Not much imagination needed for the last one… but, anyway.

So, she thought.

'Why shouldn't I try writing as well?'

Yeah, why not?

Her best friend was trying to become a writer herself too, so, if she needed help she could ask her to read her work or give her advices about how to improve and such.

But, damn, it was really easier said than done.

The first two lines were easy and she even enjoyed what she wrote in a small piece of paper… but when she tried to make it longer, the story didn't make sense, her characters changed of mind too quickly and the settings were missing because she couldn't completely describe them as her mind pictured them.

'I should have gathered ideas first…' She thought again as she raised her head to see Natsu entering the guild with Happy on toe, both friends startling everyone and making them quiet down the boisterous ambient that belonged to the guild. She looked at her teammates behind her standing with equally surprised faces that turned to mischievous ones once they realized something she didn't know about, she quirked an eyebrow, noticing that everyone was in the same state.

"What's wrong?" She turned to see the fire dragon-slayer again, finding him with a face of pure cluelessness that was a match for hers.

"Natsu," They heard Gildartz voice from the bar, looking at the boy, he was sitting on a stool with a beer in hand and raising it towards him, toasting for something that was clearly the reason behind everyone's strange looks and his happy smile. "Good luck kid!"

"Eh? What's going on?" He asked again, not fully understanding anything yet; not that she did, anyway.

"Look at the job board, you idiot!" Wakaba said after losing his patience, it looked like Natsu was going to answer him back but the curiosity got the better of him –as always- and as such, he was drawn to go and check out what was so important about the job board with a frown.

"Okay, let's see what this is all about…" There was a paper posted in the middle of the board, put over the other requests; she couldn't discern what it say but it certainly was the reason for everyone's snickers and restraint laughs.

'Good… I fall asleep and I miss today's reason for fun…' But then, it hit her. Looks of envy and pity, snickers and laughs, and a paper hanged in job board. Her eyes widened in shock. 'Don't tell me… H-he… He was picked for the job!'

And the answer was…

"Job Request; looking for couples to play some romance scripts of an ascending writer, the couples chosen are Gray Fullbuster with Lucy Heartfilia… Wow! That's weird!"

She blink twice. Her friend. Lucy. Chosen to be part of the job.

'Great! And with Gray! They'll do fine…' She thought with a smile, but then, why were the others urging Natsu to read the job request?

"Keep on reading, moron!" Macao said while stopping a fit of laughter from getting out, Wakaba, Gildartz and Mira doing the same, now most of the guild members were stopping themselves from laughing. She turned to look back at the pink-haired and saw him pale in shock when he continued to read the paper.

Wait a minute. Was he chosen too? With whom?

Curiosity can kill the cat –not Happy, other cat- and since she was curious about it, she got up from her chair and walked closer to the job board; ignoring Macao's question towards Natsu, she eyed the job board and…

"What?" She muttered in shock, walking back to her seat with shaky feet. 'Natsu and Erza…? What was that guy thinking?'

And just as the idea was sinking in, Gray had to appear.

Levy cringed at what was to come when Lucy arrived, for what it seems, Gray and Natsu didn't take the deal well and she was sure her two female friends weren't going to take it well either.

"Lucy! You've arrived!" She heard Mira say cheerily and loud enough for everyone to hear. Levy got up from her table in shock, she space out so long that she didn't notice when her friend arrived, oh god, she needed to stop her before…!

"He already came up with a couple? Who are… the… ones…?"

Too late.

"And there people, is the third… Now, only the Titania is left to see who will be her Oberon… Or Salamander…"

'Wait… Gildartz reads Shakespeare? How…?'

"Hey, Jet! Erza arrived!" She heard Droy whispering in between laughs to their friend, both of them looking at the entrance of the Titania with restraint mirth in their faces. Now was the time, Levy couldn't let Erza fall like the others did, she must warn her before anything happens.

"Erza…!" When she was going to warn her, her teammates grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth with their hands, smiling sheepishly at the Titania before dragging her out of the guild; she moved her eyes frantically to everyone, only Gajeel responding to her pleas and jumping down from his spot in the second floor to follow her and the other two. But it was too late, she saw it when she was at the door, Erza fell like the others and the rest were laughing their hearts out at Team Natsu's misfortune.

"Levy, we're going to let you go, but you must…!" Droy was starting to tell her their rules when he was abruptly interrupted by a hard pole of metal hitting him square on the back of the head. Gajeel arrived and he was pissed.

"Shut up, weird hairdo! And let go of shorty!" Okay, that wasn't exactly the kind of 'chivalric entrance' she was expecting, but it was something. Seeing that Levy was fine and that the Titania fell already, Jet and Droy apologized to Levy and sprinted back inside the guild to see the rest of the show. Seeing them run inside, the black-haired turned to check on Levy with his arms crossed and a questioning face. "Why did ya call for help, shorty?"

"I wasn't calling for help! I was expecting for 'someone' to stop Erza from seeing that request!"

The iron dragon-slayer looked at her for three whole seconds before bursting out in laughter, annoying his female companion. "That was all? Seriously? Why? Don't you find it funny?"

"Of course not!"

"That's because you didn't see Salamander's face back there!"

"I did and I still don't think of it funny!" She felt someone patting her head, looking up, Gajeel was smirking at her. "Stop doing that!"

"Okay, okay! Tch… It was funny, shorty, don't deny it."

"It wasn't, they shouldn't force people into a relationship like that!"

Gajeel raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And who's forcing a relationship?"

"They are! With this…! This…! This damn job!"

"Oh! Wow! Watch your language, shorty!" The black-haired said in between laughs, not getting her outburst at all. And since he couldn't, why not ask her? "Then say, oh, glorious writer!" Levy glared at him. "How should they fall in love with each other?"

"I…! I don't know…! But not like this! They should get to know each other!"

"They know each other since kids…"

"Do things together!"

"They've been a team for almost two years…"

"Understand each other without having to say words!"

"They completed many jobs because of that…"

"Are you going to refute everything I say?"

"No, I'm just stating the obvious…"

Silence.

"What?"

"You're not helping."

"You, at least…"

Silence. Glare. Indifference.

"Gajeel?"

"What?"

"Are you really okay with this? I mean, Lucy doesn't want a relationship, Gray is followed by Juvia, Natsu surely likes Lisanna, and Erza is still with Jellal in her mind… Are you sure they can be…? You know…?"

The iron dragon-slayer shrugged and shook his head, shooting a bored look at the petite blue-haired girl.

"Listen, wormbook, no one is pushing them to be couples to do this job. They're picked to play some shitty scripts and done, no harm done, no hearts broken and no troubles afterwards. If they want to be a couple for this, up to them, they just need to play those scripts and done."

"Oh god…"

"What?"

"You must think I'm stupid…"

"Yeah, I do…"

"You're not helping… again."

"I know; this got out of hand for you because you let your mind overthink the deal more than it should…"

"You think?"

"Of course!" Maybe he was right, maybe she did overthought the job request more than what she should have, maybe there wasn't going to happen anything between her friends that will later cause them emotional troubles and etc. It was just a job for heaven's sake!

"Hey, look! There goes Salamander!" Watching the entrance of the guild, she saw Natsu leaving the guild with a pensive face on him, he was death serious and it seemed like something troublesome was bothering his mind. "And girly-hair and nut job are following him…"

Freed and Bickslow were following him, surely to check that he wasn't going to cause destruction in the town for what happened that morning. Under Master's orders for sure.

"So… you were saying that they weren't going to be involved deeply with this?"

"Yeah, I said that, why? Salamander's an idiot, he surely is thinking too much out of this."

"Okay, then, let's go inside and check on the others."

"Gotcha, let's go…"

**To be continued.**

* * *

><p><strong>First of all, sorry for not saying anything in my last update... you know "My Candy" and the chapter "8" -omitting the AN-, I didn't know what to say.<br>**

**And now, second! And my rambling starts!**

**I know, it just shows what you have already see and whatnot, but I promise there's a point in all this.  
><strong>

**What? Did you expect me to jump on something about 'Light' related to NatZa and GrayLu without a second thought? Wrong idea, people, there's always a plot to follow. And now that I'm back, I have one for this challenge, and some ideas for that plot are surely going to break the challenge's rules. Sorry for that, from now on, this story is mine and it'll have 100 chapters, long and short, but it'll not be a challenge!  
><strong>

**Enjoy and wait for the next my friends!  
><strong>

**In case you haven't realize, this story will have testament-long chapters as well as really drabble-like chapters in it, why? Because it will help me to finish it sooner. And... you know what? Let's do this. Let's make it a challenge alright! I'll tell you about the next theme and you'll give me ideas to write about for this story! Yeah, that sounds good, a story from a fan to fans by fans. Confusing. Anyway! You get my point, right? So, please drop the ideas you have in your minds about the theme and the story when you review! It'll help me to continue and also let you enjoy more NatZa and GrayLu stories, how about that?  
><strong>

**So, the next theme is! Dark! What a surprise! Just after Light! So, drop your ideas my good readers! I know you have many and I'd like to read them! I don't want to leave stories unfinished before I completely leave, so, give a hand! Okay?  
><strong>

**Thank you for all of those that greeted me after my return. You know I really appreciate it! And it fuels me to keep on writing for you all!  
><strong>

**Also, a shoutout for NeoShadows and Shedauws! I really enjoy both your stories! Being them, "The story of a Dragon, a Knight and a Fairy Hunter", "A Time before Fairy Tails", "Fairy Tail High", "Let It Burn" and "Rock Your World"! Really good stories! I recommend them for all of those hard NatZa readers to check on, and "A Time before Fairy Tails" for those who want to read something different in writing and new to the site... well, not new, but surely better than some stories I found about the first years of Natsu and the rest of Fairy Tail.**

**Neo, I really like what you accomplished from "Confusion"! I couldn't have thought of that in years! And now that you have started, I'd really like for you to finish it, okay? So, if you continue "The story of a Dragon, a Knight and a Fairy Hunter", I'll finish my stories and even publish some new ones... the same goes for Shedauws. Yep, for both of you, so you better keep on writing! Muahahaha! *cough* Sorry, that was a Laxus... Eh? Sorry, again, that was a 'lapse'... Kehehehe!  
><strong>

**Enough! See you guys later! I need to check some notes before going to bed, and enjoy some of this Independence's day! Yep, you heard right, so, since I don't work tomorrow, I'll dedicate some hours to the site and you all, how about it?  
><strong>

**Saludos!  
><strong>


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